Patient Community

Glu is T1D Exchange’s type 1 diabetes online community designed to accelerate research and amplify the collective voice of those living with T1D. On Glu, people living with T1D can connect with others, contribute to discussions, research, and learn from the wealth of rich information on the site…and that’s just the beginning.

Glu Community Key Facts:

Crowdsourced citizen science emerges from the community offering a fresh perspective to complement traditional methods of inquiry.

Glu is over 21,000 patients, caregivers, and supporters strong—with more people joining daily.

Traditional models of research and healthcare delivery are enhanced by direct patient involvement in the discovery process and treatments related to their own health.

Data are collected in a variety of ways from the site, ranging from simple polls that do not require IRB approval to complex studies that examine longitudinal data.

Successes:

Thanks to the dedication of our patient and caregiver participants, T1D Exchange has been able to help drive progress and support the important needs of people with type 1 diabetes. Some recent success includes:

More insured test strips: Our data helped patients get more insured test strips per day – which can these patients gain better control of blood glucose levels

Better health outcomes for children under 18: Our data supported a change in ADA guidelines for HbA1c goals for pediatric patients—which may help reduce long-term complications

Less fingersticks: our data supported the FDA decision to expand Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) labeling—allowing people to safely and confidently use their CGM systems to make insulin decisions while substantially reducing daily fingersticks

Access to life-changing devices: our data supported the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services to cover CGM systems by Medicare– allowing older adults with Medicare to finally gain access to CGM technology – a potential quality of life game changer for this vulnerable population

More mental health referrals: our work in quality improvement has expanded depression-screening in patient clinics to help support diagnosis and referral to needed mental health services

More choice and competition. Our investments are helping support development of new and game-changing treatments, automated insulin delivery systems and important technology components that improve glucose monitoring.

About

T1D Exchange pushes the boundary of the traditional research and development model by connecting the experience of living with T1D to the data about the disease. The result is a place where different perspectives are exchanged and faster progress can be made.